Lifetime Examines Abduction and Survival with "The Girl Who Escaped: The Kara Robinson Story"

quotWhat39s important is telling a story that39s authentic to what I actually experiencedquot she explained while promoting the project quotBut one of the things that Elizabeth and I have both identified in our journey towards healing and being survivors of crime stories is that we did not see anyone in the media experiencing a traumatic event in the way we were experiencing itquotFor me I think what39s most important is telling a story that might look a little different than some of the stories you39ve seen on televisionquot she continued quotLike how I responded how I reacted amp8230 because ultimately I know that I39m not alone in how I responded to my particular traumaquotAs the film depicts following her ordeal and subsequent escape Robinson refused to let the ordeal identify her choosing in a way to become a statistic rather than a victim That resilient appearance coupled with a simple desire to return to normalcy was misconstrued by those closest to her who were concerned in leu of the events quotThis was 20 years agoquot Robinson explained quotThe only responses that I had seen portrayed in the media was this extremely traumatized reaction of having PTSD or having anxiety attacks and nightmares That was never something that I identified with personally Immediately following my kidnapping I felt 39I was fine39 and that was sort of a story I perpetuated for about 15 yearsquotquotI feel sharing stories is such a powerful toolquot added Smart quotMaking sure that we are authentic to the voice of the survivor is key But as I39ve met with other survivors and listened to their stories so many of them have been influenced by stories they39ve seen in the media Crimes of sexual violence are so isolating and it39s so easy to feel alone I feel like these stories are powerful in allowing other survivors to know they39re not alone amp8230 that they don39t have to be ashamed and keep it a secret Whether it39s on a very intimate small scale or something large that the whole world knows about I want them to know that they don39t need to be ashamed You can move on I feel Kara39s story illustrates that beautifullyquotquotI39m a very strongwilled and stubborn personquot added Robinson quotI decided pretty quickly that I did not want the person that took me captive to have any more control over me than he possibly could So anything I could do to maintain control amp8230 that was me remaining calm that was me escaping and that was me going forward and not being a victimquotWhile the film doesn39t dwell on the sexual abuse inflicted on Robinson it deals heavily with how she coped in those terrifying moments she was held captive and summoned these tools to deal with it Follow the rules Wait Gather information Escape And remember every single detail of your surroundings that you possibly can quotYou hear 39fight or flight39 very oftenquot she said quotThat39s now been expanded when under stress We now say 39fight flight freeze and appease39 That39s something in all of us when we face a traumatic situation I share that with people as a way to empower themquotI39d never considered myself to have a strong memory or anything like thatquot she continued quotBut under immense stress I was able to memorize a lot of facts I had my mantra which you see in the movie so it was just kind of ruminating on those things as a lot was going on that I had no control over What I did have control over was my ability to compartmentalize what was happening and put it somewhere else in my mind Then I was able to gather information gain this person39s trust a little and eventually escape Those are the things that helped mequotquotI39d agree with Karaquot Smart concurred quotInitially it was trauma response I mean I was gone for nine months It did just eventually turn into 39What happens if I don39t do this What happens if I do this Will I survive Will I live to see another day if I do this39 I just kept asking myself those questions all the time and that39s how I made my decisionsquotThat39s how I gauged whether or not I should try to make a break for freedom or if I should continue to do what they were sayingquot she added in closing quotWhat my life came down to was will this help me survive Will I die if I don39t do this And that39s what I didquotThe Girl Who Escaped The Kara Robinson Story will be telecast Saturday February 11 at 8 pm ET on LifetimeClick the social buttons to share this content with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this content are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated writers

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Lifetime Examines Abduction and Survival with "The Girl Who Escaped: The Kara Robinson Story"

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Steve Gidlow

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Lifetime Examines Abduction and Survival with "The Girl Who Escaped: The Kara Robinson Story"

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